It is known to provide an electrosurgical instrument in which the cutting of tissue is carried out by means of an elongate electrosurgical electrode extending along the inner surface of one of a pair of jaw elements. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,174,309 & 7,204,835 are two examples of this kind of instrument. In this instrument, it is usual to grasp tissue between the jaws, perform an electrosurgical tissue coagulating action on the tissue grasped between the jaws, and finally perform an electrosurgical cut on the coagulated tissue. The present invention attempts to provide an improvement to this type of procedure.